Cincinnati had most applicants in Ohio: 729

The final count of applications for Ohio's tuition voucher program tallied 729 in Cincinnati, more than any other city in the state.

The final number reflects applications received by midnight Friday, according to the Ohio Department of Education.

Columbus had the second-highest number of applicants with 529. Dayton followed with 435.

Because the number of vouchers requested statewide - 2,568 - did not exceed the 14,000 allotted, another registration period will be held from July 21 to Aug. 4 for the 2006-07 school year.

The Cincinnati applicants include students in Cincinnati Public Schools, charter schools and children who will enter kindergarten in the fall.

District Treasurer Michael Geoghegan estimated that about 375 of the applicants in Cincinnati were from Cincinnati Public Schools. He said it's too soon to tell how the district will be affected, particularly because the school system has found that some ineligible students applied for vouchers.

Districts can flag students who applied but appear to be ineligible, he said.

As of Thursday, more than 500 students had applied for vouchers from Cincinnati, including 280 from Cincinnati Public Schools. Geoghegan at the time said the loss of students could cost the district as much as $2 million.

"We are still processing and getting all the information ourselves," he said.

Officials said the additional application period will make it difficult for the district to plan its budget.

Board members held their first public hearing on the $428.6 million budget Monday.

"Not knowing how many additional students may be affected by the new application period until August definitely will be a staffing and budgeting challenge," said Cincinnati Public Schools spokeswoman Janet Walsh.

The review process to verify application eligibility continues though June, said Karla Carruthers, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Education.

"These numbers could change slightly as we are reviewing some that are currently in 'pending' status," Carruthers said.

The state will award vouchers in July, she said.

The application process remains the same. Children must first be accepted to a participating private school. Private schools will submit the voucher application to the state.